>> today we will talk we will discuss their role religion is playing this election season. "washington journal" will be live at 7:00 eastern on c-span. >> two live campaign events

today -- vice president and his wife jill can paint in lakewood, ohio at 11:15 a.m.. president obama and bill clinton and the battleground state of virginia -- they may bill final campaign stop at the jiffy lube pavilion in bristow, outside the nation's capital. this is about one hour. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [cheers and applause] >> hello bristow.

>> hello. i am glad to be back in virginia. i want to thank congressman connolly. i want to ask you to make sure tim kaine wins this election on tuesday. [applause] it was great to hear the dave matthews band again. [applause] as you can see, i have given my voice in the service of my president. [applause] i have the honor of introducing the president tonight in setting up his speech. i want to tell you that four years ago when he ran both hillary and i worked very hard. we did together over 100

appearances. i am much more enthusiastic about barack obama's election tonight then i was four years ago. [cheers and applause] there are five simple reasons. first of all, in at time torn by idealogical warfare and partisanship, he has the right philosophy. the president knows that we are all in this together. that works to the other than "you are on your own." [applause] he knows that an economy that builds the middle class and gives poor people an honorable way to work into it is a lot better than four more years of trickle-down. [applause] we have been there.

we have done that. he knows that a budget based on arithmetic is better than one based on illusion. [applause] he knows that practical cooperation is better than all of the constant ideological conflict. we saw it, did we not? we saw in the way the president got off the campaign trail and responded. to sandy. all over america, people were thrilled to see him working with the republican governor of new jersey. andthe mayor of new york city who is an independent endorsed president obama. [applause] and the democratic governors of

new york and connecticut, to turn the electricity on and clean the debris. what i want to tell you is, cooperation works better when there is no disaster. if he did not have cooperation, disaster. barack obama is a curve and coal operator. -- barack obama is a proven cooperators. [cheers and applause] he even offered in an attempt to get a budget deal, at $1 trillion in spending cuts. they said, thank you very much. no deal. we will not see one penny raised on the wealthiest americans even if it will get rid of $4 trillion in debt. the door is still open. when you re-elect him, they will walk through that door. [cheers and applause]

the second reason i am for president obama is he has done a good job with a bad hand. keep in mind, all through 2007 and 2008, then senator obama crossed america with senator clinton and senator joe biden and other good democrats talking about how bad the economy already was. median family income was lower than that was the day i left office. poverty was up. all of these things were true before the crash. advocates. then came the crash six weeks before the election. he took office when the economy was losing 100,000 jobs a month

-- 800,000 jobs per month. now, the economy lost jobs for about 15 months. when it started again, when president obama's jobs programs started kicking in in the three months, we have had 5.8 million -- in just 33 months, jobs as of yesterday. when somebody criticizes an office holder, you have a right to ask them, compared to what? let's look at the most recent comparisons. if you do not count the losses in the crash of president bush and look at the seven years after the brief slowdown we have had when the dot com stocks crashed a bit. just the seven-year period.

there were 2.6 million private- sector jobs twice as many jobs, 5.8 million. in 33 months. job. [cheers and applause] the third reason i am for him is he has fulfilled his responsibility to be a good commander in chief. [applause] he has advanced the nation's security by ending the war in iraq, by fighting terror, modernizing the military. and by bringing our troops home from afghanistan. making the world with more friends and fewer adversaries.

[cheers and applause] he has a heck of the secretary of state. [cheers and applause] most important of all to me, he has shown a consistent unbreakable commitment to take care of the men and women in uniform when they come home. [cheers and applause] for all of these reasons, he was endorsed by a self- described modern republican and one of the most distinguished military leaders since world war ii, colin powell. [applause] he also pointed out his opponents are the same neocons that took us into war in iraq on bad intelligence.

commander in chief. [applause] the fourth reason i am for him can be described in a phrase once used by the second president bush. with. believe it or not. [laughter] he often got made fun of, but it is true. he said the president is the decider in chief. let's look at how the deciders stack up. barack obama decided to sign the lily ledbetter fair pay out. -- act. [applause]

that is not just a woman's issue. anybody who, like to me, was a kid in a family where both the mother and father worked knows every father wants his wife to be paid an equal amount for equal work so they can raise a kid. [applause] this law has been on the books for a couple of years now. when the mitt romney was asked, well -- he was asked, would you sign the bill? [laughter] what i mean, he will have harder decisions than this. [cheers and applause]

there is an answer to this question. and answer yes or no. when you are the decider in chief you cannot just shuffle along. you can't do that. barack obama decided that america could not afford to let the automobile industry die. he saved it. [cheers and applause] mitt romney opposed what he did. he has tied himself in so many nuts over this automobile deal,he could be hired as a chief contortionist.

for cert do so led. -cuirque de soleil. he was against it. it was not just general motors and chrysler. there is a reason all the german and japanese companies that make companies were for the automobile restructuring. they knew if general motors quit buying parts, they were toast. it is another example of, we are all in this together. barack obama made the right decision. his opponent was wrong. [applause] in an unbelievable attempt to distract the voters of ohio where one in 80 jobs depend on -- one in eight jobs depends on the car business, he accused

the president of allowing the jeep to move the jobs to china. [boosd] i remember how hard it was for us to get it there. i know that they are expanding the plant, hiring more people and taking on more production. [cheers and applause] first, jeep said it was not so. then chrysler said governor romney was wrong. they said, even general motors rebuked him. when i was a kid and i got my hand caught in a cookie jar, my face turned red. i took my hand out of the cookie jar, not gov. romney.

he is looking for more cookies. [laughter] when general motors and chrysler jeep all said this is bull, he then said because fiat owns with a controlling interest in china, -- in chrysler that the president had worked with the italians to move jobs to china. he said they moved it to china. he is now going after the italians. it is the irish is next i am told. -- if the irish are next, i am test. -- i am ttoast.

[laughter] after every single reputable authority said this is a false charge, he put it on television and doubled down and cut more money behind it. -- and put more money behind it. he believes a middle-class people are so scared about their jobs and so uninformed of it will buy any line that they see on television. i think they and you are smarter. i think barack obama will be elected president. [cheers and applause] finally and most important,i am for president obama because his plans for the future are better. that's what really matters. he will talk about this buti would just give you a brief outline. he wants us to invest even more in the first jobs of the 21st century. -- the new jobs of the 21st century and infrastructure and information technology and and modern agriculture. he was to educate and empower

people to do those jobs. [applause] he wants to help employers give back into the mix by going to community colleges and getting jobs. [applause] he has revolutionized the student loan law. from now on beginning next year every person in america who has a college loan will first of all, get it at a lower cost and have the right to pay the loan back as they fixed percent of their income for 20 years. [applause] we have fallen to 15th or so in

the percentage of people were of four year college degrees. -- with four-year college degrees. this means nobody ever has to drop out of college again ever because of the loans. [cheers and applause] one of the reasons middle-class people could not get a pay raise is because health-care costs went up so much. the health care law has not only allowed 3 million young people to be on their policies for some time, it has not only met a possibly beginning next year for 30 million americans -- money with -- many with insured, not on the has amended a legal for women to be charged -- illegal for women to be charged more than men for health-care, [applause] for the last two years to have had the lowest inflation in health-care costs in 50 years. if this keeps going, the

ideologues it or lose every argument they have to privatize social security. barack obama has done it the right away. he has a budget based on arithmetic. bring health care costs down, bring health care coverage up. [applause] he only asks people like me -- he asks us to pay a little more so we can balance the budget and get rid of the debt and announced the future. -- and manage our future. now, how does that compare to gov. romney's plan. they told us the debt was the biggest problem in the world.

remember that? they forgot to tell us we never have permanent debt in peace time until they convinced everybody government -- there was no such thing as a bad a tax cut. they tripled and quadrupled the debt before i took office. then i gave the four years of declining deficits and four years of surpluses. [applause] they got back in and they got into debt again. this should explain something to you. obama's plan brings the debt down and is based on our arithmetic. what is romney's plan? another big tax cuts for upper income people. and gives the highest income

people 60% of the tax cuts. and then to cut education and investment in areas that will create jobs, cut them a lot. repeal the student loan law making it more expensive and harder to repay. keeping us down there in rankings of college graduates. do not produce a budget. you want to spend 2.4 trillion dollars more. you want to cut taxes more than he wants to cut taxes. you have only identified $1 trillion of tax deductions on companies he want to repeal. that is president obama's ideal. that leaves $6.50 trillion. how will you fill the hole? you wanted to reduce the long-

term debt. how will the do that? see me about that after the election. [laughter] he has no budget. i want to vote for the president who has a budget, who has a plan that will produce prosperity. i wanted to vote for the president who has been a good commander in chief. somebody who has brought to america on the other side it. lastly, just to remember this, governor mitt romney has promised us 12 million jobs. he said, by just electing me, people will be so elated that

you are going to get 12 million jobs. [laughter] it was just an oversight as the president has told us, america is in a huge public health -- it -- is in the grips of this huge public health and academic -- epidemic. is spreading a condition known as romnesia. [laughter] it is so prevalent that even his opponent could have picked up on this. he forgot to tell you that days before he promised you the twelve million jobs, a distinguished independent business forecaster says we are trying to get 12 million jobs ion the next four year if we do not mess up what obama has already done. [cheers and applause]

it is my great honor to introduce to you the commander in chief, the man who brought you back and will take you forward -- barack obama. [cheers and applause] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ ♪ >> hello, virginia. [applause] are you fired up? [applause] are you ready to go? [applause] you have to be fired up for bill clinton. [applause] he has been traveling all across the country for this campaign. he has been laying out the states so well that our team basically calls him the secretary of explaining stuff. [applause] the only clinton working harder than him as our secretary of [cheers and applause]

them. the only problem is, i was enjoying listening to president clinton so much, i had to run up to get my cue. [laughter] all in. he has been a great president and a great friend. i want everyone to give round of applause. [applause] speaking of the outstanding public servants, your next senator, your next governor, tim kaine is in the house. -- your former governor -- your outstanding congressman gerry connolly is here. [applause] and i want everybody to thank

dave mathews for the outstanding performance. [applause] now -- i love you back. [applause] i am glad to see all of you. for the next several days, all -- for the past several days, all devastation taking place on the east coast. virginia was hit, but was spared the worst brunt of the storm. i have been in new jersey. we have been on the phone with people from connecticut and new york. as a nation, we mourn those who have been lost. our hearts and prayers go to the families that have been going through unbearable pain. impacted. it will be a long, hard road to recovery.

every time i have spoken to people in region, i have told them america will be with them every step of the way. america will be there on this hard road ahead. together. that is what we do. as americans. during the course of tragedy, we have been inspired over the last few days by heroes, firefighters, and a national guardsmen and ems people and police officers, running into buildings. neighbors helping neighbors cope with tragedy. leaders of different political party is working to get it to fix what is broken. [applause] not according about who is getting credit or who is

collecting the politics of it. no matter how bad this storm is, we bounceback, no matter how tough times things are. we rise or fall as one nation and one people. we are all in this together. [cheers and applause] that spirit has guided this country along the impossible journey for more than two centuries. it is what has carried us through the trials and tribulations of four years. in 2008, we were in the middle of two boards. -- two wars and the worst economic crisis since the great depression. today our businesses have created 5.8 million the jobs. [applause] the american auto industry is back on top. home values are on their rise. housing construction is coming back. we are less dependent on foreign oil than any time had

until the last four years because of the sacrifice of men and women in and uniform. the war in afghanistan is coming to a close. and the war in iraq is over. al-qaeda has been decimated andwe are safer than we were four years ago. [applause] we have made real progress. we are here tonight not only to listen to dave matthews, not only to hear bill clinton break things down for us, we are here because we have more work to do. as long as there is a single american who wants a job and cannot find one, our job is not done. as long as there are families working harder but still cannot -- but still falling behind, --

our work is not done. as long as there is a child in virginia who is languishing in poverty and far from opportunity, our work is not done. we have more work to do. [applause] our fight goes on, virginia, because we know the nation cannot succeed without a thriving middle-class. our fight to goes on because america has always done best. everybody has a fair share and is going by the same rules. that is why you elected bill clinton in 1992. that is why you elected me in 2008. for president. [cheers and applause] [four more years]

now, virginia, in three days you have a choice to make. even if we have made it the choice, you have to talk to some people who have not. [applause] you have to tell them it is not just a choice between two candidates and the two parties, it is right choice between two visions of america. as americans, we honor the entrepreneurs, the risk takers. we believe the free enterprise system is the greatest source of prosperity we have ever known. we also know in this country, the market works best.

the free enterprise system or best, more businesses are created, more jobs are created when everybody has a chance to succeed. [applause] when everybody has a chance to get a good education and learn new skills. [applause] when we support research and medical breakthroughs and new technologies because we know we cannot do that on our own. we have to pour resources to discover the future. we know america is stronger when everybody can count on affordable health insurance. [applause] when everybody can count on medicare and social security to give them a dignified retirement. we know the market works better when the roles of the road to protect kids from toxic dumping, consumers from being taken advantage of from credit card companies or mortgage lenders.

we believe there is a role for rules and regulations that are smart. we also believe that leave to the people that we did not think politicians in washington are smart about controlling -- decisions women are capable of making. [applause] now, for 80 years we had a -- for eight years we had a president who shared these believes it. he have just heard him. president clinton's economic plan ask the wealthiest americans to pay a little bit more. so we can reduce our deficit and invest in the skills and ideas of our peoplethe interesting thing is, at the time, the republicans into congress and a certain senate candidate by the name of the mitt romney -- do not boo.

you have to vote. they said it would kill jobs. sound familiar? it turns out, his math was just as bad back then as it is now. [laughter] by the end of the second term, president clinton created 23 million jobs. our deficit became the biggest surplus in history. [applause] what about their ideas? we tried those, too. after bill clinton left office, for eight years, we tried the giving big tax cuts to the wealthiest americans. we tried to strip away regulations to wall street.

and insurance companies and oil companies were free to do what they chose. we got record deficits, the slowest job growth than half of a century and an economic crisis ever since. we tried one way, it worked. we tried another way, it did not work. -- that mitt romney. gov. romney is a talent salesmen. in this campaign, he has tried as hard as he can to repackage the same ideas. and he has, i think president clinton called it, the brass to call it change. [laughter] we know what change looks like. and what governor romney is

selling ain't it. giving more powers to the biggest banks is not change. giving tax cuts to the wealthy is not change. refusing to answer questions about the details of your policies until after the election, that definitely is not change. ruling out compromise by pledging to rubber-stamp the two --that is not change. changing the facts when it is convenient to your campaign, not change. i mean, that's old. that's the attitude in washington that needs to change. now, virginia, after four years as president, you know me. you know me. [applause]

so when you're trying to sort through this argument about change, part of what you have to ask yourself is, who do you trust? [applause] when you are talking about the economy and policy that is so critical to our future, you've got to ask yourself, who do you trust? [applause] you may not agree with every decision i have made -- michelle decision i have made. [laughter] there may be times when you are frustrated at the pace of change. i am frustrated sometimes with the pace of change. but you know i mean what i say and i say what i mean. [applause] you know what i believe, you know where i stand, when i said we would end the war in iraq, we ended it. [applause] when i said we would pass health care reform, we passed it. [applause] when i said we would repeal don't ask don't tell, we repealed it. [applause]

you know i tell the truth. and most importantly, you know i will fight for you and your families every single day as hard as i know how. [applause] so let me tell you, i know what will change looks like because i fought for it. and you have, too. [applause] we cannot give up on that now. we have got to keep pushing forward. that is why i'm running for a second term. that is why i need your vote. [applause] >> four more years! four more years! >> now, virginia, let me describe briefly -- i know folks are cold. let me describe what am i forward. what do i mean by real change?

the change is a country where every american has a shot at a great education. now, government alone cannot do that. parents, students, you have to study. but do not tell me that hiring more teachers without help our economy grow. -- won't help our economy grow. do not tell me that students cannot afford college should borrow money from their parents. that was not an option for me or bill clinton. for a lot you. that's why i want to cut the growth of tuition in half over the next 10 years. [applause] that is why i want to recruit 100,000 math and science behind. that is why i want to train two million americans at community colleges to get the skills businesses are hiring for now. that's real change. that is what we're fighting for in this election. that is what is at stake. i want us to live up to this

country's legacy of innovation. i am proud i have been with the american workers and the american auto industry. we are not just building cars again. we are building better cars, cars that by the middle of the next decade will go out twice as far on a gallon of gas. [applause] that kind of innovation, that kind of forward-thinking, it is not restricted to the auto industry. i want to bring manufacturing back. on all kinds of things. we have thousands of workers building long-lasting batteries, building wind turbines across the country. instead of subsidizing oil companies, profits, when they are making money hand over fist, i want to support energy jobs of tomorrow. which will cut our oil imports in half and held our -- and help our environment, our national security. i do not want a tax code that will reward companies for creating jobs overseas. i want to reward companies

creating those jobs in virginia. [applause] that is the future i see for this country. change is turning the page on a decade of war so we can focus on nation-building at home. we will pursue our enemies with the strongest military the world has ever known. and virginia carries more than its load when it comes to defending this country. and we are grateful to this state. but we also understand to be strong, it is time to use some of the savings from winding down two wars to pay down our debt. and rebuild america,fixing roads, putting folks back to work, rebuilding bridges, making sure schools are state of the art. and that is especially important for our veterans. we want to put them to work because if they fought for our work country and defend our freedom, they should not have to fight for a job when they come home. [applause] that is what is at stake in this election.

and president clinton talked about it. we have to reduce our deficit. that real change but we have to do it and a balanced way. i cut $1 trillion of spending. we can do more. once you get in office like dick cheney said, it does not matter. we need to ask the wealthiest americans to go back to the tax rates they pay when president clinton was in office. the reason is that budget is about choices, priorities. as long as i am president, i will not turn medicare into a voucher to pay for another millionaire tax cut. [applause] so, virginia, we know what changes. we know what the future requires. we know also that it will not be easy. back in 2008 i talked about this. i warned some of the.

-- i want some of view but maybe you were not believing me. -- i warned some of you but maybe you did not believe me. i said change, real change is not just about changing presidents or changing parties. it is about changing our policyi ran because the voice of the american people, your voice, had been shut out of our democracy by lobbyists and special interests and politicians who are willing to say and do anything to keep things the way they are. the protectors, the guardians of the status quo. and that status quo and washington has fought us every step of the way over the last four years. they spent millions of dollars trying to prevent us from reforming health care, millions of trying to prevent us from reforming wall street. they engineered a strategy of gridlock in congress. refusing to compromise on ideas that in the past both democrats and republicans have supported. and what they are counting on now is that you are going to be so worn down by all the squabbling, so tired of the dysfunction, so weary of what goes on on capitol hill that you will give up.

and walk away. and put them back in power. let them stay there. in other words, their bet is on cynicism. but, virginia, my bet is on you. [applause] decency on you and the and the good sense of the american people. and it is not a partisan but i am making. when the other party has been willing to work with me to help the middle class, i am right there with them. i am happy about it. i would have less gray hair if they are ready to go. come on. [laughter] when we cut taxes for middle- class families and small business, we had some republicans for it. that was great. we had some courageous republican senators work with us to repeal "don't ask, don't tell." we celebrated that. we embraced them.

i will work with anybody of any party that will move this country for. -- forward. virginia, if you want to break the gridlock in congress, you will vote for leaders like tim kaine who feel the same way, whether they are democrats, republicans or independent. leaders who will put people first and put the election aside for a moment. but we are still going to have some fights. because there are some values that are at stake, some principles we have got to fight for. if the price of peace in washington is cutting deals that will kick students of financial late or get rid of funding for planned parenthood or discriminate against people with pre-existing conditions or a limited health care for millions on medicaid who are poor or elderly or disabled or kick kids off of head start, i'm not buying that. that is the price i am willing to pay. -- that is not a price i am willing to peg. that is not bipartisanship. that is not change.

that is surrendered to the same status quo that has hurt middle-class families and everybody who is striving to get into the middle class for too long. and, virginia, i am here and running for a second term up on that fight. [applause] i'm not ready to give up on that fight, and i hope you are not, either. >> no! >> you know, the folks at the top of this country do not need another champion in washington. they will always have seasoned tables and access and influence, regardless of who is president. they will find a way to have their voices heard. they have money they can spend, lobbyists they can hire. the people that need a champion are the americans whose letters i read late at night after a long day in the office. the men and women i meet on the campaign trail every day. the laid off furniture worker who had to retrain at the age of 55 for a new career and a new industry.

she needs a champion. the restaurant owner who's got great food but needs a loan to expand and the bank turned him down. he needs a champion. that cooks and the wait staff and the cleaning staff working overtime in some vegas hotel trying to save enough to buy a first home or send their kids to college, they need champions. [applause] the autoworker who got laid off and thought the plant would never reopen and now is back on the job, filled with pride and dignity, not because he is building a great car but he knows he is building america. he needs a champion. [applause] that teacher who is in an overcrowded classroom, digging into her own pocket for school supplies, not getting the support she needs, but knowing every day she is touching that one child. she needs a champion. [applause]

all those kids in inner-city and small farm towns, the valleys of ohio, and these rolling virginia hills, kids dreaming of becoming scientists or doctors or diplomats or businessmen or even of president, they need a champion in washington because they do not have lobbyists. [applause] the future never has lobbyists. but it is the dreams of those grace. that's why i need you, virginia. to make sure their voices are heard. to make sure your voices are heard. we have come too far to turn back now. we've come too far to let our hearts grow fainter. now is the time to keep pushing forward. educate all our kids, train our workers, create new jobs, rebuild the infrastructure,

discover new sources of energy, grow our middle class, restore our democracy and make sure that no matter who you are, but no matter where you come from or what you look like, no matter what your last name is or who you love, you can make it in america if you try. [applause] and, virginia, that is why i am asking for your votes. [applause] you know, i was backstage with david plouffe. he's sort of mastermind of campaign organization. we were talking about how as the campaign goes on, we become less relevant. campaign. [laughter] he's just bothering a bunch of

folks, calling, asking what is going on. but the power, the power is not with us anymore. the planning, everything we do, it does not matter because now it is up to you. it's up to the volunteers. it's up to somebody knocking on the door. it's up to somebody making a phone call. it is up to somebody talking to their mom or dad or their wife or their husband or grandma or grandpa and that's how democracy is supposed to be. it's up to you. you've got the power. and that's why i need you, virginia. do not get tired. don't get weary. if you are willing to knock on some doors with me and make some phone calls for me, grabbed some friends for me, turn out the vote for me, we'll win, virginia.

we will win this election, finish what we started, move forward. together we will reaffirm the spirit that makes the united states of america the greatest nation on earth. god bless you. god bless the united states of america. [applause] [cheers and applause] ♪ ♪ [cheering]

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>> watch the presidential election results tuesday night on c-span. coming up today, next is "washington journal" live with your calls and the mel's followed by "newsmakers." than vice president joe biden and his wife jill campaign in ohio and later, tagg and ann romney are with governor bob mcdonnell in sterling, virginia. next on "washington journal," we will talk to a republican and democratic strategist. that is followed by a look at the economy in the swing states. then we will discuss the role